For better governance of natural resources

The Amazon is a very attractive space for its natural riches and for the resources it offers for their use in certain economic sectors, which turn out to be the focus for extractive industries and for large infrastructure projects, power generation or road clearance. . However, the socio-environmental impacts of these projects affect the ecosystems and especially the communities located in these areas. These impacts have as a starting point the weak environmental certification processes and the few guarantees that are granted prior to the implementation of large projects to minimize these socio-environmental impacts.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the Strategic Environmental Assessment (EAE) are instruments of environmental management, planning and decision-making, essential to measure the potential socio-environmental impacts that projects can generate and to ensure the design of adequate measures of prevention, mitigation and compensation. These instruments are regulated within our legal framework within the framework of the National Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA).

However, there are still deficiencies in terms of the dissemination and transparency of information, since currently the information is not centralized in a single project file (planning, implementation and supervision), since there are several entities that participate in this process. This makes citizen surveillance difficult and that it is only possible to access the files in person, which can be detrimental to those who do not live in Lima. Likewise, the rights to participation and consultation are in many cases used as a checklist and are not fully guaranteed. Thus, despite having Law No. 29785, Law of the Right to Prior Consultation of Indigenous or Native Peoples, it is not fully complied with.

In addition, when the State declares projects of national interest, these are intended to accelerate the environmental licensing processes without conducting an in-depth analysis of the possible socio-environmental effects of said activities. This context is more worrying due to the recent measures proposed in the context of COVID-19, which are aimed at encouraging investments and at the same time weakening socio-environmental demands and citizen participation mechanisms.

For this reason, the intervention and binding opinion of the Ministry of Culture in the EIA processes is essential, especially in projects that impact the territories of indigenous peoples. Additionally, the binding opinion of the Ministry of Health should be included in hydrocarbon projects, land and river transport, due to the risks to human health that these projects imply that affect the quality of water, air, soil, subsoil, noise, etc. Likewise, it is necessary to include tools and methodologies on health impacts to face the current situation of the pandemic in these processes.

Finally, it is necessary that the planning of infrastructure or extractive projects have transparency and participatory processes with decision-making power that integrate an intercultural and gender approach, including the discussion on their socio-environmental impacts, especially on health, before they final decisions are made for better governance of natural resources.

[Publirreportaje]